Methods and apparatus for monitoring an audience of media based on thermal imaging

ABSTRACT

Methods, apparatus, systems, and articles of manufacture are disclosed. An example apparatus includes a thermal image detector to determine a heat blob count based on a frame of thermal image data, the frame of thermal image data captured in the media environment, a comparator to compare the heat blob count to a prompted people count, the prompted people count based on one or more responses to a prompting message, and when the heat blob count and the prompted people count match, cause a timer that is to trigger generation of the prompting message to be reset.

RELATED APPLICATION

This patent arises from a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/890,715, filed on Jun. 2, 2020, and titled “Methods And Apparatus For Monitoring An Audience Of Media Based On Thermal Imaging.” Priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/890,715 is claimed. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/890,715 is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

This disclosure relates generally to audience monitoring, and, more particularly, to methods and apparatus for monitoring an audience of media based on thermal imaging.

BACKGROUND

Media monitoring companies, also referred to as audience measurement entities, monitor user interaction with media devices, such as smartphones, tablets, laptops, smart televisions, etc. To facilitate such monitoring, monitoring companies enlist panelists and install meters at the media presentation locations of those panelists. The meters monitor media presentations and transmit media monitoring information to a central facility of the monitoring company. Such media monitoring information enables the media monitoring companies to, among other things, monitor exposure to advertisements, determine advertisement effectiveness, determine user behavior, identify purchasing behavior associated with various demographics, etc.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an example audience measurement system having an example meter to monitor an example media presentation environment.

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of the example meter of FIG. 1 to generate exposure data for the media.

FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram of an example people identifier included in the example meter of FIG. 2 to determine a people count for audience monitoring data.

FIG. 4 illustrates a block diagram of an example thermal image detector included in the example people identifier of FIG. 3 to determine a heat blob count.

FIG. 5 illustrates a block diagram of an example people identification model controller included in the example people identifier of FIG. 3 to train a model to determine a people count of the media presentation environment of FIG. 1 .

FIG. 6 is a flowchart representative of machine readable instructions which may be executed to implement an example people meter controller included in the example people identifier of FIG. 3 to determine a people count.

FIGS. 7 and 8 are flowcharts representative of machine readable instructions which may be executed to implement the example thermal image detector of FIGS. 3 and/or 4 to determine a heat blob count.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart representative of machine readable instructions which may be executed to implement an example comparator included in the example people identifier of FIG. 3 to verify a people count of the media presentation environment of FIG. 1 .

FIG. 10 is a flowchart representative of machine readable instructions which may be executed to implement the example people identification controller of FIGS. 3 and/or 5 to train the model to determine a people count of the media presentation environment of FIG. 1 .

FIG. 11 is a block diagram of an example processing platform structured to execute the instructions of one or more of FIGS. 6-10 to implement the example people identifier of FIGS. 2-5 .

The figures are not to scale. In general, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawing(s) and accompanying written description to refer to the same or like parts.

Descriptors “first,” “second,” “third,” etc. are used herein when identifying multiple elements or components which may be referred to separately. Unless otherwise specified or understood based on their context of use, such descriptors are not intended to impute any meaning of priority, physical order or arrangement in a list, or ordering in time but are merely used as labels for referring to multiple elements or components separately for ease of understanding the disclosed examples. In some examples, the descriptor “first” may be used to refer to an element in the detailed description, while the same element may be referred to in a claim with a different descriptor such as “second” or “third.” In such instances, it should be understood that such descriptors are used merely for ease of referencing multiple elements or components.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The meters described above implement media identification features and people identification features. Such features (e.g., media identification and people identification) enable the generation of media monitoring information that can be used for determining audience exposure (also referred to as user exposure) to advertisements, determining advertisement effectiveness, determining user behavior relative to media, identifying the purchasing behavior associated with various demographics, etc. The people identification features of the meter determine the audience in a media presentation environment. For example, the people identification feature may be implemented by active people meters, passive people meters, and/or a combination of active people meters and passive people meters to determine a people count.

An active people meter obtains a people count by actively prompting an audience to enter information for audience member identification. In some examples, an active people meter identifies an audience member by the audience member's assigned panelist number or visitor number. For example, the active people meter obtains the assigned panelist number or visitor number through a communication channel. In some examples, the active people meter pairs the information corresponding to the audience input with a household (e.g., a specific media environment) and with the corresponding demographic data for the people of that household. In some examples, the active people meter validates viewership (e.g., the number of audience members viewing media in the media environment) at a set interval. For example, active people meter generates a prompting message for the audience members to verify that they are still in the audience. In this manner, the active people meter relies on audience compliance. In some examples, maintaining audience compliance is a challenge. For example, audience members may incorrectly enter the number of people viewing the media and/or they may miss the prompting messages generated by the active people meter.

A passive people meter obtains audience information passively, usually by capturing images of the audience using a camera and then employing facial recognition to identify the individual audience members included in the audience. In some examples, image processing for facial recognition may be inaccurate depending on the positioning of the camera capturing the audience images. Additionally, the audience members may be uncomfortable having a camera watch them in their household environment.

To enable an accurate and less invasive method of determining a people count, example methods and apparatus disclosed herein utilize a combination of a passive people meter and an active people meter. An example passive people meter disclosed herein is implemented by an example thermal imaging system to identify audience members in the media environment. In some examples, the thermal imaging system is implemented by a thermal imaging camera to scan the media environment and capture frames of thermal image data of the media environment. The example passive people meter utilizes the frames of thermal image data to detect and count human size heat blobs in the media environment.

Example methods and apparatus disclosed herein additionally utilize the active people meter to compare audience input with the heat blob counts. An example people identifier, implemented by the example active people meter and the example passive people meter as disclosed herein, includes a comparator to compare the number of audience members that responded to a prompting message with a number of heat blobs detected by the passive people meter. In some examples, when the comparator determines the counts do not match, the comparator can notify the active people meter to generate a new prompting message for the audience member. In other examples, when the comparator determines the counts do not match, the comparator can inform a media measurement data controller to remove inaccurate counts determined by the active people meter.

In some examples, the example people identifier reduces (e.g., minimizes) the amount of prompting generated by the active people meter relative to prior people meters that do not employ a combination of active and passive people metering. For example, when the comparator determines the counts are a match, the audience count is verified, and subsequent active prompting can be disabled for at least a given monitoring interval (e.g., 5 minutes, 15 minutes, etc.). Using thermal imaging, the people identifier monitors the media environment over time (e.g., continuously, at sampled time intervals, etc.) to determine the number of human size heat blobs present, validate against the number entered on the active people meter, and accurately measure the audience.

In some examples disclosed herein, the example people identifier includes a people identification model controller to train a model to learn about the corresponding household media environment. As used herein, a model is a description of an environment using mathematical concepts and language. A model is generally composed of relationships and variables, the relationships describing operators (e.g., such as algebraic operators, functions, etc.) and the variables describing monitored environment parameters of interest that can be quantified. In some examples, the model is a machine learning and/or artificial intelligence (AI) model such as a Linear Regression model, a decision tree, a support vector machine (SVM) model, a Naïve Bayes model, etc.

In some examples, the people identification model controller obtains data from the comparator, the active people meter, and the passive people meter and generates a feature vector corresponding to the data. The example people identification model controller utilizes the feature vector to train the model. For example, the feature vector includes data representative of descriptive characteristics of a physical environment (e.g., the household media environment). In some examples, such data includes a date and time, a number of audience members present in the media environment, a media source (e.g., radio media, television media, pay per view media, movies, Internet Protocol Television (IPTV), satellite television (TV), Internet radio, satellite radio, digital television), a media channel (e.g., broadcast channel, a domain name), and the demographics of the audience members. In this manner, the example people identification model can generate the model to learn who will be in the audience and at what time. Eventually, when training is complete, the model can be deployed at the meter and utilized to make informed decisions about the audience count.

In some examples, the model can utilize the presence of people determined by the thermal imaging camera as a metric to determine whether the people identifier is actually counting the right number of people. For example, the model could be used to determine if the audience views the same or similar media every Tuesday night at 8:00 pm, if there usually two people present in the media audience, etc. In such an example, the model is used to verify the accuracy of the people count based on the information obtained.

FIG. 1 is an illustration of an example audience measurement system 100 having an example meter 102 to monitor an example media presentation environment 104. In the illustrated example of FIG. 1 , the media presentation environment 104 includes panelists 106, 107, and 108, an example media device 110 that receives media from an example media source 112, and the meter 102. The meter 102 identifies the media presented by the media device 110 and reports media monitoring information to an example central facility 114 of an audience measurement entity via an example gateway 116 and an example network 118. The example meter 102 of FIG. 1 sends media monitoring data and/or audience monitoring data to the central facility 114 periodically, a-periodically and/or upon request by the central facility 114.

In the illustrated example of FIG. 1 , the media presentation environment 104 is a room of a household (e.g., a room in a home of a panelist, such as the home of a “Nielsen family”) that has been statistically selected to develop media (e.g., television) ratings data for a population/demographic of interest. In the illustrated example of FIG. 1 , the example panelists 106, 107 and 108 of the household have been statistically selected to develop media ratings data (e.g., television ratings data) for a population/demographic of interest. People become panelists via, for example, a user interface presented on a media device (e.g., via the media device 110, via a website, etc.). People become panelists in additional or alternative manners such as, for example, via a telephone interview, by completing an online survey, etc. Additionally or alternatively, people may be contacted and/or enlisted using any desired methodology (e.g., random selection, statistical selection, phone solicitations, Internet advertisements, surveys, advertisements in shopping malls, product packaging, etc.). In some examples, an entire family may be enrolled as a household of panelists. That is, while a mother, a father, a son, and a daughter may each be identified as individual panelists, their viewing activities typically occur within the family's household.

In the illustrated example, one or more panelists 106, 107 and 108 of the household have registered with an audience measurement entity (e.g., by agreeing to be a panelist) and have provided their demographic information to the audience measurement entity as part of a registration process to enable associating demographics with media exposure activities (e.g., television exposure, radio exposure, Internet exposure, etc.). The demographic data includes, for example, age, gender, income level, educational level, marital status, geographic location, race, etc., of a panelist. While the example media presentation environment 104 is a household, the example media presentation environment 104 can additionally or alternatively be any other type(s) of environments such as, for example, a theater, a restaurant, a tavern, a retail location, an arena, etc.

In the illustrated example of FIG. 1 , the example media device 110 is a television. However, the example media device 110 can correspond to any type of audio, video, and/or multimedia presentation device capable of presenting media audibly and/or visually. In some examples, the media device 110 (e.g., a television) may communicate audio to another media presentation device (e.g., an audio/video receiver) for output by one or more speakers (e.g., surround sound speakers, a sound bar, etc.). As another example, the media device 110 can correspond to a multimedia computer system, a personal digital assistant, a cellular/mobile smartphone, a radio, a home theater system, stored audio and/or video played back from a memory such as a digital video recorder or a digital versatile disc, a webpage, and/or any other communication device capable of presenting media to an audience (e.g., the panelists 106, 107 and 108).

The media source 112 may be any type of media provider(s), such as, but not limited to, a cable media service provider, a radio frequency (RF) media provider, an Internet based provider (e.g., IPTV), a satellite media service provider, etc. The media may be radio media, television media, pay per view media, movies, Internet Protocol Television (IPTV), satellite television (TV), Internet radio, satellite radio, digital television, digital radio, stored media (e.g., a compact disk (CD), a Digital Versatile Disk (DVD), a Blu-ray disk, etc.), any other type(s) of broadcast, multicast and/or unicast medium, audio and/or video media presented (e.g., streamed) via the Internet, a video game, targeted broadcast, satellite broadcast, video on demand, etc.

The example media device 110 of the illustrated example shown in FIG. 1 is a device that receives media from the media source 112 for presentation. In some examples, the media device 110 is capable of directly presenting media (e.g., via a display) while, in other examples, the media device 110 presents the media on separate media presentation equipment (e.g., speakers, a display, etc.). Thus, as used herein, “media devices” may or may not be able to present media without assistance from a second device. Media devices are typically consumer electronics. For example, the media device 110 of the illustrated example could be a personal computer such as a laptop computer, and, thus, capable of directly presenting media (e.g., via an integrated and/or connected display and speakers). In some examples, the media device 110 can correspond to a television and/or display device that supports the National Television Standards Committee (NTSC) standard, the Phase Alternating Line (PAL) standard, the Système Électronique pour Couleur avec Mémoire (SECAM) standard, a standard developed by the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC), such as high definition television (HDTV), a standard developed by the Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB) Project, etc. Advertising, such as an advertisement and/or a preview of other programming that is or will be offered by the media source 112, etc., is also typically included in the media. While a television is shown in the illustrated example, any other type(s) and/or number(s) of media device(s) may additionally or alternatively be used. For example, Internet-enabled mobile handsets (e.g., a smartphone, an iPod®, etc.), video game consoles (e.g., Xbox®, PlayStation 3, etc.), tablet computers (e.g., an iPad®, a Motorola™ Xoom™, etc.), digital media players (e.g., a Roku® media player, a Slingbox®, a Tivo®, etc.), smart televisions, desktop computers, laptop computers, servers, etc. may additionally or alternatively be used.

The example meter 102 detects exposure to media and electronically stores monitoring information (e.g., a code detected with the presented media, a signature of the presented media, an identifier of a panelist present at the time of the presentation, a timestamp of the time of the presentation) of the presented media. The stored monitoring information is then transmitted back to the central facility 114 via the gateway 116 and the network 118. While the media monitoring information is transmitted by electronic transmission in the illustrated example of FIG. 1 , the media monitoring information may additionally or alternatively be transferred in any other manner, such as, for example, by physically mailing the meter 102, by physically mailing a memory of the meter 102, etc.

The meter 102 of the illustrated example of FIG. 1 combines audience measurement data and people metering data. For example, audience measurement data is determined by monitoring media output by the media device 110 and/or other media presentation device(s), and audience monitoring data (also referred to as demographic data, people monitoring data, etc.) is determined from people monitoring data provided to the meter 102. Thus, the example meter 102 provides dual functionality of a content measurement meter to collect content measurement data and people meter to collect and/or associate demographic information corresponding to the collected audience measurement data.

For example, the meter 102 of the illustrated example collects media identifying information and/or data (e.g., signature(s), fingerprint(s), code(s), tuned channel identification information, time of exposure information, etc.) and people data (e.g., user identifiers, demographic data associated with audience members, etc.). The media identifying information and the people data can be combined to generate, for example, media exposure data (e.g., ratings data) indicative of amount(s) and/or type(s) of people that were exposed to specific piece(s) of media distributed via the media device 110. To extract media identification data, the meter 102 and/or the example audience measurement system 100 extracts and/or processes the collected media identifying information and/or data received by the meter 102, which can be compared to reference data to perform source and/or content identification. Any other type(s) and/or number of media monitoring techniques can be supported by the meter 102.

Depending on the type(s) of metering the meter 102 is to perform, the meter 102 can be physically coupled to the media device 110 or may be configured to capture signals emitted externally by the media device 110 (e.g., free field audio) such that direct physical coupling to the media device 110 is not required. For example, the meter 102 of the illustrated example may employ non-invasive monitoring not involving any physical connection to the media device 110 (e.g., via Bluetooth® connection, WIFI® connection, acoustic watermarking, etc.) and/or invasive monitoring involving one or more physical connections to the media device 110 (e.g., via USB connection, a High Definition Media Interface (HDMI) connection, an Ethernet cable connection, etc.).

In examples disclosed herein, to monitor media presented by the media device 110, the meter 102 of the illustrated example employs audio watermarking techniques and/or signature based-metering techniques. Audio watermarking is a technique used to identify media, such as television broadcasts, radio broadcasts, advertisements (television and/or radio), downloaded media, streaming media, prepackaged media, etc. Existing audio watermarking techniques identify media by embedding one or more audio codes (e.g., one or more watermarks), such as media identifying information and/or an identifier that may be mapped to media identifying information, into an audio and/or video component of the media. In some examples, the audio or video component is selected to have a signal characteristic sufficient to hide the watermark. As used herein, the terms “code” or “watermark” are used interchangeably and are defined to mean any identification information (e.g., an identifier) that may be inserted or embedded in the audio or video of media (e.g., a program or advertisement) for the purpose of identifying the media or for another purpose such as tuning (e.g., a packet identifying header). As used herein “media” refers to audio and/or visual (still or moving) content and/or advertisements. To identify watermarked media, the watermark(s) are extracted and used to access a table of reference watermarks that are mapped to media identifying information.

Unlike media monitoring techniques based on codes and/or watermarks included with and/or embedded in the monitored media, fingerprint or signature-based media monitoring techniques generally use one or more inherent characteristics of the monitored media during a monitoring time interval to generate a substantially unique proxy for the media. Such a proxy is referred to as a signature or fingerprint, and can take any form (e.g., a series of digital values, a waveform, etc.) representative of any aspect(s) of the media signal(s)(e.g., the audio and/or video signals forming the media presentation being monitored). A signature may be a series of signatures collected in series over a timer interval. A good signature is repeatable when processing the same media presentation, but is unique relative to other (e.g., different) presentations of other (e.g., different) media. Accordingly, the term “fingerprint” and “signature” are used interchangeably herein and are defined herein to mean a proxy for identifying media that is generated from one or more inherent characteristics of the media.

Signature-based media monitoring generally involves determining (e.g., generating and/or collecting) signature(s) representative of a media signal (e.g., an audio signal and/or a video signal) output by a monitored media device and comparing the monitored signature(s) to one or more references signatures corresponding to known (e.g., reference) media sources. Various comparison criteria, such as a cross-correlation value, a Hamming distance, etc., can be evaluated to determine whether a monitored signature matches a particular reference signature. When a match between the monitored signature and one of the reference signatures is found, the monitored media can be identified as corresponding to the particular reference media represented by the reference signature that with matched the monitored signature. Because attributes, such as an identifier of the media, a presentation time, a broadcast channel, etc., are collected for the reference signature, these attributes may then be associated with the monitored media whose monitored signature matched the reference signature. Example systems for identifying media based on codes and/or signatures are long known and were first disclosed in Thomas, U.S. Pat. No. 5,481,294, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

For example, the meter 102 of the illustrated example senses audio (e.g., acoustic signals or ambient audio) output (e.g., emitted) by the media device 110. For example, the meter 102 processes the signals obtained from the media device 110 to detect media and/or source identifying signals (e.g., audio watermarks) embedded in portion(s) (e.g., audio portions) of the media presented by the media device 110. To sense ambient audio output by the media device 110, the meter 102 of the illustrated example includes an acoustic sensor (e.g., a microphone). In some examples, the meter 102 may process audio signals obtained from the media device 110 via a direct cable connection to detect media and/or source identifying audio watermarks embedded in such audio signals. In some examples, the meter 102 may process audio signals and/or video signals to generate respective audio and/or video signatures from the media presented by the media device 110.

To generate exposure data for the media, identification(s) of media to which the audience is exposed are correlated with people data (e.g., presence information) collected by the meter 102. The meter 102 of the illustrated example collects inputs (e.g., audience monitoring data) representative of the identities of the audience member(s) (e.g., the panelists 106, 107 and 108). In some examples, the meter 102 collects audience monitoring data by periodically or aperiodically prompting audience members in the monitored media presentation environment 104 to identify themselves as present in the audience. In some examples, the meter 102 responds to events (e.g., when the media device 110 is turned on, a channel is changed, an infrared control signal is detected, etc.) by prompting the audience member(s) to self-identify. In some examples, the meter 102 determines a people count by utilizing an example thermal imaging sensor 124. For example, the thermal imaging sensor 124 captures frames of thermal image data of the media presentation environment 104 and provides the thermal image data to the meter 102 to detect human sized blobs of heat. In some examples, the meter 102 responds to events (e.g., when the media device 110 is turned on, a channel is changed, an infrared control signal is detected, etc.) by prompting the thermal imaging sensor 124 to capture thermal images.

The example thermal imaging sensor 124 utilizes heat energy of an environment (e.g., the media presentation environment 104) to generate thermal image data. The example thermal imaging sensor 124 records the temperature of various objects in the frame, and then assigns different shades of colors to corresponding different temperatures (e.g., to different ranges of temperatures). In some such examples, a particular shade of color indicates how much heat is radiating off an object compared to the other objects in the frame. For example, the thermal imaging sensor 124 includes measuring devices that capture infrared radiation (e.g., microbolometers) associated with each pixel in the frame. The measuring devices then record the temperature of the pixel and assign the pixel to an appropriate color. In some examples, the thermal imaging sensor 124 is configured to assign a greyscale to pixels in a frame, where white may be indicative of “hot” (e.g., the highest temperature in the frame) and dark grey/black may be indicative of “cold” (e.g., the lowest temperature in the frame). In some examples, the thermal imaging sensor 124 is configured to assign warm and cool colors (e.g., warm corresponding to red, orange, and yellow colors; cool corresponding to green, blue, and purple colors) to the pixels in a frame, where the warm colors may be indicative of relatively higher temperatures and the cool colors may be indicative of relatively lower temperatures. In some examples, a human radiates more heat (e.g., is associated with a higher temperature) than inanimate objects, such as a couch or remote control device.

The audience monitoring data and the exposure data can then be complied with the demographic data collected from audience members such as, for example, the panelists 106, 107 and 108 during registration to develop metrics reflecting, for example, the demographic composition of the audience. The demographic data includes, for example, age, gender, income level, educational level, marital status, geographic location, race, etc., of the panelist.

In some examples, the meter 102 may be configured to receive panelist information via an example input device 122 such as, for example, a remote control, An Apple iPad®, a cell phone, etc.). In such examples, the meter 102 prompts the audience members to indicate their presence by pressing an appropriate input key on the input device 122. For example, the input device 122 may enable the audience member(s) (e.g., the panelists 106, 107 and 108 of FIG. 1 ) and/or an unregistered user (e.g., a visitor to a panelist household) to input information to the meter 102 of FIG. 1 . This information includes registration data to configure the meter 102 and/or demographic data to identify the audience member(s). For example, the input device 122 may include a gender input interface, an age input interface, and a panelist identification input interface, etc. Although FIG. 1 illustrates multiple input devices 122, the example media presentation environment 104 may include an input device 122 with multiple inputs for multiple panelists. For example, an input device 122 can be utilized as a household input device 122 where panelists of the household may have a corresponding input assigned to the.

The example gateway 116 of the illustrated example of FIG. 1 is a router that enables the meter 102 and/or other devices in the media presentation environment (e.g., the media device 110) to communicate with the network 118 (e.g., the Internet.)

In some examples, the example gateway 116 facilitates delivery of media from the media source 112 to the media device 110 via the Internet. In some examples, the example gateway 116 includes gateway functionality, such as modem capabilities. In some other examples, the example gateway 116 is implemented in two or more devices (e.g., a router, a modem, a switch, a firewall, etc.). The gateway 116 of the illustrated example may communicate with the network 118 via Ethernet, a digital subscriber line (DSL), a telephone line, a coaxial cable, a USB connection, a Bluetooth connection, any wireless connection, etc.

In some examples, the example gateway 116 hosts a Local Area Network (LAN) for the media presentation environment 104. In the illustrated example, the LAN is a wireless local area network (WLAN), and allows the meter 102, the media device 110, etc. to transmit and/or receive data via the Internet. Alternatively, the gateway 116 may be coupled to such a LAN. In some examples, the gateway 116 may be implemented with the example meter 102 disclosed herein. In some examples, the gateway 116 may not be provided. In some such examples, the meter 102 may communicate with the central facility 114 via cellular communication (e.g., the meter 102 may employ a built-in cellular modem).

The network 118 of the illustrated example is a wide area network (WAN) such as the Internet. However, in some examples, local networks may additionally or alternatively be used. Moreover, the example network 118 may be implemented using any type of public or private network, such as, but not limited to, the Internet, a telephone network, a local area network (LAN), a cable network, and/or a wireless network, or any combination thereof.

The central facility 114 of the illustrated example is implemented by one or more servers. The central facility 114 processes and stores data received from the meter 102. For example, the example central facility 114 of FIG. 1 combines audience monitoring data and program identification data from multiple households to generate aggregated media monitoring information. The central facility 114 generates reports for advertisers, program producers and/or other interested parties based on the compiled statistical data. Such reports include extrapolations about the size and demographic composition of audiences of content, channels and/or advertisements based on the demographics and behavior of the monitored panelists.

As noted above, the meter 102 of the illustrated example provides a combination of media (e.g., content) metering and people metering. The example meter 102 of FIG. 1 is a stationary device that may be disposed on or near the media device 110. The meter 102 of FIG. 1 includes its own housing, processor, memory and/or software to perform the desired audience measurement and/or people monitoring functions.

In examples disclosed herein, an audience measurement entity provides the meter 102 to the panelist 106, 107 and 108 (or household of panelists) such that the meter 102 may be installed by the panelist 106, 107 and 108 by simply powering the meter 102 and placing the meter 102 in the media presentation environment 104 and/or near the media device 110 (e.g., near a television set). In some examples, more complex installation activities may be performed such as, for example, affixing the meter 102 to the media device 110, electronically connecting the meter 102 to the media device 110, etc.

To identify and/or confirm the presence of a panelist present in the media device 110, the example meter 102 of the illustrated example includes an example display 132. For example, the display 132 provides identification of the panelists 106, 107, 108 present in the media presentation environment 104. For example, in the illustrated example, the meter 102 displays indicia or visual indicators (e.g., illuminated numerals 1, 2 and 3) identifying and/or confirming the presence of the first panelist 106, the second panelist 107 and the third panelist 108.

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of the example meter 102 of FIG. 1 to generate exposure data for the media. The example meter 102 of FIG. 2 is coupled to the example thermal imaging sensor 124 of FIG. 1 to generate accurate people counts based on frames of thermal image data collected from the example thermal imaging sensor 124. The example meter 102 of FIG. 2 includes an example image sensor 201, an example audio sensor 202, an example media identifier 204, an example network communicator 206, an example communication processor 208, an example people identifier 210, an example media measurement data controller 212, and an example data store 214.

The example image sensor 201 of the illustrated example of FIG. 2 is a camera. The example image sensor 201 receives light waves, such as the light waves emitting from the example media device 110 and converts them into signals that convey information. Additionally or alternatively, the example image sensor 201 may be implemented by a line input connection, where the video and images presented by the example media device 110 are carried over an audio/video network (e.g., HDMI cable) to the example meter 102. The example image sensor 201 may not be included in the example meter 102. For example, it may not be necessary for the meter 102 to utilize the image sensor 201 to identify media data. However, in some examples, the image sensor 201 can be utilized for detection of media data.

The example audio sensor 202 of the illustrated example of FIG. 2 is a microphone. The example audio sensor 202 receives ambient sound (e.g., free field audio) including audible media presented in the vicinity of the meter 102. Additionally or alternatively, the example audio sensor 202 may be implemented by a line input connection. The line input connection may allow an external microphone to be used with the meter 102 and/or, in some examples, may enable the audio sensor 202 to be directly connected to an output of a media device 110 (e.g., an auxiliary output of a television, an auxiliary output of an audio/video receiver of a home entertainment system, etc.). Advantageously, the meter 102 is positioned in a location such that the audio sensor 202 receives ambient audio produced by the television and/or other devices of the media presentation environment 104 (FIG. 1 ) with sufficient quality to identify media presented by the media device 110 and/or other devices of the media presentation environment 104 (e.g., a surround sound speaker system). For example, in examples disclosed herein, the meter 102 may be placed on top of the television, secured to the bottom of the television, etc.

The example media identifier 204 of the illustrated example of FIG. 2 analyzes signals received via the image sensor 201 and/or audio received via the audio sensor 202 and identifies the media being presented. The example media identifier 204 of the illustrated example outputs an identifier of the media (e.g., media-identifying information) to the media measurement data controller 212. In some examples, the media identifier 204 utilizes audio and/or video watermarking techniques to identify the media. Additionally or alternatively, the media identifier 204 utilizes signature-based media identification techniques.

The example network communicator 206 of the illustrated example of FIG. 2 is a communication interface configured to receive and/or otherwise transmit corresponding communications to and/or from the central facility 114. In the illustrated example, the network communicator 206 facilitates wired communication via an Ethernet network hosted by the example gateway 116 of FIG. 1 . In some examples, the network communicator 206 is implemented by a Wi-Fi radio that communicates via the LAN hosted by the example gateway 116. In other examples disclosed herein, any other type of wireless transceiver may additionally or alternatively be used to implement the network communicator 206. In examples disclosed herein, the example network communicator 206 communicates information to the communication processor 208 which performs actions based on the received information. In other examples disclosed herein, the network communicator 206 may transmit media measurement information provided by the media measurement data controller 212 (e.g., data stored in the data store 214) to the central facility 114 of the media presentation environment 104.

The example communication processor 208 of the illustrated example of FIG. 2 receives information from the network communicator 206 and performs actions based on that received information. For example, the communication processor 208 packages records corresponding to collected exposure data and transmits records to the central facility 114. In examples disclosed herein, the communication processor 208 communicates with the people identifier 210 and/or a media measurement data controller 212 to transmit people count data, demographic data, etc., to the network communicator 206.

The example people identifier 210 of the illustrated example of FIG. 2 determines audience monitoring data representative of the number and/or identities of the audience member(s) (e.g., panelists) present in the media presentation environment 104. In the illustrated example, the people identifier 210 is coupled to the thermal imaging sensor 124. In some examples, the people identifier 210 is coupled to the thermal imaging sensor 124 via a direct connection (e.g., Ethernet) or indirect communication through one or more intermediary components. In some examples, the thermal imaging sensor 124 is included in (e.g., integrated with) the meter 102. The example people identifier 210 collects data from the example thermal imaging sensor 124 and data from example input device(s) 122 corresponding to audience monitoring data. The example people identifier 210 provides the audience monitoring data to the media measurement data controller 212 such that the audience monitoring data can be correlated with the media identification data to facilitate an identification of which media was presented to which audience member (e.g., exposure data). The example people identifier 210 is described in further detail below in connection with FIGS. 3, 4, and 5 .

The example media measurement data controller 212 of the illustrated example of FIG. 2 receives media identifying information (e.g., a code, a signature, etc.) from the media identifier 204 and audience monitoring data from the people identifier 210 and stores the received information in the data store 214. The example media measurement data controller 212 periodically and/or a-periodically transmits, via the network communicator 206, the media measurement information stored in the data store 214 to the central facility 114 for post-processing of media measurement data, aggregation and/or preparation of media monitoring reports. In some examples, the media measurement controller 312 generates exposure data. For example, the media measurement controller 312 correlates the media identifying information with audience monitoring data, as described above, to generate exposure data.

The example data store 214 of the illustrated example of FIG. 2 may be implemented by any device for storing data such as, for example, flash memory, magnetic media, optical media, etc. Furthermore, the data stored in the example data store 214 may be in any data format such as, for example, binary data, comma delimited data, tab delimited data, structured query language (SQL) structures, etc. In the illustrated example, the example data store 214 stores media identifying information collected by the media identifier 204 and audience monitoring data collected by the people identifier 210.

FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram of the example people identifier 210 of FIG. 2 , which is to determine a people count for audience monitoring data in accordance with teachings of this disclosure. The example people identifier 210 includes an example people meter controller 302, an example interface 304, an example thermal image detector 306, an example comparator 308, an example people identification model controller 310, and an example model database 312.

The example people meter controller 302 of the illustrated example of FIG. 3 obtains user input from example input device(s) 122. For example, the panelists 106, 107, and 108 may press a key on the respective input device(s) 122 indicating they are in the room (e.g., the media presentation environment 104). In some examples, the panelists 106, 107, 108 enter a username, password, and/or other information to indicate who they are and that they are in the room viewing media. In some examples, the people meter controller 302 determines a people count based on the user input obtained from the input device(s) 122. For example, the people meter controller 302 may determine that two people (e.g., two of the panelists 106, 107, 108) have indicated their presence in the media presentation environment 104. The example people meter controller 302 provides the people count to the example comparator 308.

In some examples, the people meter controller 302 generates prompting messages at periodic and/or aperiodic scheduling intervals. For example, the people meter controller 302 generates a prompting message to be displayed on the media device 110 and/or a display of the meter 102. The prompting messages can include questions and/or requests for which the panelists 106, 107, 108 are to respond to. For example, the people meter controller 302 may generate a prompting message every 42 minutes (or at some other interval) asking the panelists 106, 107, 108 if they are still viewing the media. In some examples, the people meter controller 302 generates a prompting message based on one or more events, such when the media device 110 is turned on, when the channel has changed, when the media source has changed, etc. In some examples, the people meter controller 302 receives a trigger from the comparator 308 to determine whether to generate prompting messages or not generate prompting messages. The example people meter controller 302 communicates the prompting messages through the communication processor 208 of FIG. 2 to the media device 110.

The example interface 304 of the illustrated example of FIG. 3 communicates between the example thermal imaging sensor 124 and the example thermal image detector 306. For example, the interface 304 obtains data from the thermal imaging sensor 124 and provides the data to the example thermal image detector 306. In some examples, the interface 304 obtains requests from the example thermal image detector 306 and passes the requests to the example thermal imaging sensor 124. For example, the interface 304 enables communication between the thermal imaging sensor 124 and the thermal image detector 306. The example interface 304 may be any type of interface, such as a network interface card (NIC), an analog-to-digital converter, a digital-to-analog converter, Universal Serial Bus (USB), GigE, FireWire, Camera Link®, etc.

The example thermal image detector 306 of the illustrated example of FIG. 3 obtains thermal image data from the example interface 304 and determines a heat blob count based on the thermal image data. For example, the thermal image detector 306 obtains frames of thermal image data from the thermal imaging sensor 124 via the interface 304 and analyzes the frames. In some examples, the thermal image detector 306 determines human sized blobs of heat, or human size heat blobs, in the frames. In some examples, the thermal image detector 306 analyzes the frames of thermal image data for temperature values and particular shapes to evaluate if the blobs are indicative of humans. The example thermal image detector 306 generates a heat blob count based on the number of detected human size heat blobs and provides the count to the example comparator 308. In some examples, the example thermal image detector 306 provides output information indicative of thermal image data analysis results to the example people identification model controller 310. The example thermal image detector 306 is described in further detail below in connection with FIG. 4 .

The example comparator 308 of the illustrated example of FIG. 3 obtains the people count from the example people meter controller 302 (e.g., also referred to as the prompted people count) and the heat blob count from the example thermal image detector 306 and compares the two count values. The example comparator 308 determines if the count values are equal in value. When the comparator 308 determines the count values match, then the people count is verified. In some examples, when the people count is verified, the example comparator 308 notifies the example people meter controller 302 to reset a scheduling interval timer (e.g., a counter, clock, or other timing mechanisms) that initiate the generation of prompting messages. For example, if the people meter controller 302 is configured to generate prompting messages every 42 minutes, then a timer is set to 42 minutes. When the timer expires, a prompting message is triggered. However, if the comparator 308 verifies the number of people (e.g., the panelists 106, 107, 108) in the media presentation environment 104, a prompting message is not needed to determine whether people are still viewing the media.

In some examples, the comparator 308 determines the prompted people count and the heat blob count values are not equal. For example, the comparator 308 may determine the prompted people count is less than the heat blob count. In such an example, the people meter controller 302 did not receive user input from every person in the media presentation environment 104. In this example, the example comparator 308 triggers the people meter controller 302 to generate a prompting message for additional member logging. As used herein, member logging occurs when a given panelist member logs into their respective input device 122 (or into a common input device 122 used in the environment) to indicate that they are viewing the media. The example people meter controller 302 generates the prompting message in an effort to obtain a response to verify the heat blob count and generate accurate audience monitoring data.

In some examples, the comparator 308 determines the people count is greater than the heat blob count. In such an example, the people meter controller 302 obtained a false number of people viewing the media. For example, one of the panelists 106, 107, 108 may incorrectly respond to a prompt with information corresponding to a different panelist and then attempt to correct the mistake by also entering their own information. As another example, a panelist member previously viewing the media may have left the media presentation environment 104 without logging out and/or indicating that they have stepped away. In some such examples, the comparator 308 triggers the people meter controller 302 to generate a prompting message to attempt to correct the discrepancy between the prompted people count and the heat blob count values. Additionally or alternatively, the example comparator 308 may decrease the people count value to equal the heat blob count value.

The example comparator 308 provides the verified people count to the example people identification model controller 310. In some examples, the comparator 308 determines a time of the comparison between the people count and the heat blob count and provides the time to the people identification model controller 310. For example, the comparator 308 may identify 4:58 pm as the time corresponding to the comparison between the people count and the heat blob count. In some examples, the comparator 308 updates, or otherwise trains, the people identification model when the comparator 308 provides the verified people count and the time corresponding to the comparison to the people identification model controller 310.

The example people identification model controller 310 of the illustrated example of FIG. 3 trains a people identification model based on data obtained from the example comparator 308, the example people meter controller 302, and the example thermal image detector 306. In some examples, the people identification model controller 310 is in communication with the example media measurement data controller 212 of FIG. 2 . For example, the people identification model controller 310 obtains information from the media measurement data controller 212 and provides information to the media measurement data controller 212. In some examples, the data obtained from the media measurement data controller 212 by the people identification model controller 310 includes media identifying information. For example, the people identification model controller 310 queries the media measurement data controller 212 for media identifying information at the time corresponding to the comparison. In some examples, the media measurement data controller 212 provides the data to the people identification model controller 310 without receiving a request and/or query. In this manner, the people identification model controller 310 obtains the people count at, for example, 4:58 pm and obtains the broadcast channel airing on the media device 110 at 4:58 pm. In some examples, the people identification model controller 310 utilizes the data from one or more of the people meter controller 302, the thermal image detector 306, the comparator 308, and the media measurement data controller 212 to train a model to predict a verified people count for particular dates and times.

In some examples, the people identification model controller 310 passes the verified people count to the media measurement data controller 212. For example, the people identification model controller 310 obtains the verified people count, packages the information, and provides the information to the media measurement data controller 212 for generation of exposure data. For example, the media measurement data controller 212 utilizes the information to correlate the verified people count with the media identifying information. In some examples, the people identification model controller 310 obtains demographic information from the people meter controller 302 to pass to the media measurement data controller 212. For example, the people meter controller 302 determines the demographic information corresponding to the panelists logged into the meter 102. In this manner, the example people identification model controller 310 passes the people count, the demographic information, and the time corresponding to the comparison to the media measurement data controller 212 to generate exposure data. The example people identification model controller 310 is described in further detail below in connection with FIG. 5 .

The example model database 312 of the illustrated example of FIG. 3 stores people identification models generated by the people identification model controller 310. For example, the model database 312 may periodically or aperiodically receive new, updated, and/or trained people identification models. In some examples, the model database 312 stores one people identification model. In some examples, the model database 312 stores multiple people identification models. The example model database 312 is utilized for subsequent retrieval by the people meter controller 302, the thermal image detector 306, and/or the people identification model controller 310.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an example implementation of the thermal image detector 306 of FIG. 3 . The example thermal image detector 306 of FIG. 3 includes an example thermal image database 402, an example heat blob determination controller 404, an example scanning controller 406, and an example blob counter 408.

The example thermal image database 402 of the illustrated example of FIG. 4 stores frames of thermal image data obtained from the example interface 304 of FIG. 3 . For example, the thermal image database 402 stores the frames of thermal image data captured by the example thermal imaging sensor 124 for current and/or subsequent use by the heat blob determination controller 404. In some examples, the thermal image database 402 stores tagged and/or analyzed frames of thermal image data.

The example heat blob determination controller 404 of the illustrated example of FIG. 4 obtains a frame of the thermal image data from the example thermal image database 402. The example heat blob determination controller 404 analyzes the frame for human sized heat blobs. In an example operation, the heat blob determination controller 404 identifies portions of the frame that warrant further attention. For example, the heat blob determination controller 404 detects warm areas of the frame that are to be analyzed further. A warm area of the frame can be determined based on the color of the pixels in that area. In some examples, the heat blob determination controller 404 includes configuration data corresponding to the color scale of the thermal image data. The example heat blob determination controller 404 utilizes the color scale to identify temperature associated with a pixel color. In some examples, the configuration data is specific to the particular thermal imaging sensor 124. For example, the configuration data may be based on whether the thermal imaging sensor 124 includes an image processor with greyscale imaging, colored imaging, etc. For example, the configuration data for an example greyscale implementation heat blob determination controller 404 may specify that a white-colored pixel is associated with a first temperature, a lighter grey-colored pixel is associated with a second temperature lower than the first temperature, and a black-colored pixel is associated with a third temperature lower than both the first and second temperatures. Configuration data for an example color scale implementation of the heat blob determination controller 404 may specify that a red-colored pixel is associated with a first temperature, an orange-colored pixel is associated with a second temperature low than the first temperature, and a yellow-colored pixel is associated with a third temperature low than both the first and second temperatures.

In further operation, the heat blob determination controller 404 detects features of the frame that are incompatible with the presence of a human, or a small group of humans, and discards those features. For example, the heat blob determination controller 404 identifies cool areas of the frame, areas with hard edges, etc. By discarding the incompatible features, the example heat blob determination controller 404 improves the probability and accuracy of detecting a human size heat blob.

The example heat blob determination controller 404 filters the identified areas of the frame by applying symmetry, size, and/or distance constraints. For example, the heat blob determination controller 404 utilizes convolutional filtering, where a filter that is indicative of a shape, size, and/or distance is convolved over the identified areas of the frame. In such an example, edge detection techniques may be utilized to identify an area of the frame that corresponds to an edge (e.g., an outline of a human head, arm, leg, etc.), where the identified area is convolved with one or more filters. For example, the heat blob determination controller 404 may implement step detection, change detection, and any other edge detection techniques to identify an area of the frame corresponding to an edge. The example heat blob determination controller 404 filters the identified areas of the frame to detect lines and features that correspond to the shape of a human. In some examples, the heat blob determination controller 404 performs multiple filtering techniques with multiple filters.

In some examples, the filters of the heat blob determination controller 404 are calibrated based on the location and/or positioning of the thermal imaging sensor 124 in the media monitoring environment 104. For example, the heat blob determination controller 404 includes positioning information of the thermal imaging sensor 124. Such positioning information can be used to determine distance between the thermal imaging sensor 124 and an area of interested in a thermal image frame. In some examples, the filters are adjusted to accommodate for the determined distance. For example, if the heat blob determination controller 404 determines an area of interest was captured x feet away from the thermal imaging sensor 124, then the filters are adjusted (e.g., tuned, updated, etc.) to include reduced and/or increased sized shapes (e.g., based on the value of x).

In some examples, the heat blob determination controller 404 fuses and/or otherwise connects two or more outputs of the filter detection for evaluation of the frame. For example, the connected outputs include information indicative of one or more shapes in the frame. In some examples, neural networks, adaptive boosting, and/or other types of models are used to evaluate the connected (e.g., fused) outputs of the filter detection. After evaluation, the example heat blob determination controller 404 identifies one or more human size heat blobs. In some examples, the heat blob determination controller 404 outputs the evaluation to the example blob counter 408.

In some examples, the heat blob determination controller 404 does not detect human size heat blobs in the frame. In such an example, the heat blob determination controller 404 may send a trigger to the scanning controller 406 to prompt the scanning controller to capture more frames of thermal image data of the media presentation environment 104. For example, the thermal image detector 306 may be initiated to detect heat blobs (e.g., heat representation of the exterior temperature of an object or person) when the media device 110 is turned on. In such examples, when the media device 110 is turned on, an audience is generally present. If the example heat blob determination controller 404 does not detect human size heat blobs, then a recapture of the environment is to occur. For example, a panelist member may have briefly left the room after turning on the media device 110, the thermal imaging sensor 124 may have not captured the media presentation environment 104 when the media device 110 was turned on, etc.

In some examples, the heat blob determination controller 404 provides the connected output and/or evaluation results to the example people identification model controller 310. The example people identification model controller 310 utilizes the connected output and/or evaluation results as training data for predicting a people count of the media presentation environment 104.

The example blob counter 408 of the illustrated example of FIG. 4 obtains the evaluation output from the heat blob determination controller 404 corresponding to a number, if any, of human size heat blobs. For example, the heat blob determination controller 404 provides information indicative of the evaluation of the frame of thermal image data to the blob counter 408. The example blob counter 408 includes a counter, such as a device which stores a number of times a heat blob corresponds to a human. If the example blob counter 408 determines that human size heat blobs were detected, then the example blob counter 408 increments the counter to the number of heat blobs that were detected. For example, if the heat blob determination controller 404 detected five human size heat blobs, the blob counter 408 stores a count of five heat blobs. If the example blob counter 408 does not receive information indicative of a detection of human size heat blobs, then the example blob counter 408 updates the blob counter with a count of zero.

In some examples, the blob counter 408 tags the frame of thermal image data with the heat blob count. For example, the frame includes metadata indicative of a time the frame was captured, the size of the frame, the device that captured the frame, etc., and further includes the heat blob count appended by the blob counter 408. In some examples, the tagged frame is stored in the thermal image database 402 and/or provided to the example comparator 308 and the example people identification model controller 310.

In some examples, the thermal image database 402, the heat blob determination controller 404, the scanning controller 406, the blob counter 408, and/or otherwise the thermal image detector 306 may be coupled to the people identification model controller 310 of FIG. 3 in an effort to provide training data (e.g., people monitoring data) to the people identification model. In some examples, it is beneficial to provide training data (e.g., people monitoring data) to the people identification model controller 310 to train the people identification model to predict heat blob counts at particular times throughout the day.

Turning to FIG. 5 , a block diagram illustrating the example people identification model controller 310 of FIG. 3 is depicted to train a model to learn about the presence of an audience of a household media presentation environment. The example people identification model controller 310 includes an example communication controller 502, an example feature extractor 504, an example model trainer 506, an example model updater 508, and an example model generator 510.

The example communication controller 502 of the illustrated example of FIG. 5 obtains information from the example comparator 308 of FIG. 3 to pass to the example media measurement data controller 212 of FIG. 2 . The example communication controller 502 is communicatively coupled to the example comparator 308, the example media measurement data controller 212, and the example feature extractor 504. In some examples, the communication controller 502 provides the people count to the media measurement data controller 212. For example, the comparator 308 provides an updated and/or accurate count of the people (e.g., panelists 106, 107, 108) viewing media in the media presentation environment 104. An updated and/or accurate count of the people is a verified count of people based on the comparison between the people count from the people meter controller 302 of FIG. 3 and the heat blob count from the thermal image detector 306 of FIG. 3 . In some examples, the communication controller 502 obtains demographic data from the people meter controller 302, indicative of the demographics of the people in the media presentation environment 104, and provides them to the media measurement data controller 212.

The example feature extractor 504 of the illustrated example of FIG. 5 extracts feature from information obtained from the example comparator 308 of FIG. 3 , the example people meter controller 302 of FIG. 3 , and the media measurement data controller 212 of FIG. 2 . For example, the feature extractor 504 obtains people monitoring data, over time, from one or more of the comparator 308, the thermal image detector 306, the people meter controller 302, and the media measurement data controller 212, and generates a feature vector corresponding to the people monitoring data. In some examples, the feature extractor 504 obtains multiple instances of people monitoring data before generating a feature vector. For example, the feature extractor 504 obtains people monitoring data over the span of a week. The example feature extractor 504 generates or builds derived values of feature vectors (e.g., representative of features in the people monitoring data) that are to be informative and non-redundant to facilitate the training phase of the people identification model controller 310. As used herein, a feature vector is an n-dimensional array (e.g., a vector) of features that represent some physical environment, media display, measurement parameter, etc. For example, a feature vector represents descriptive characteristics of the media presentation environment at a particular date and time.

In the illustrated example of FIG. 5 , the feature vector can identify the number of people accounted for in the media presentation environment 104 in addition to the time at which they were accounted, and the media displayed at the time for which they were accounted. The feature vector provided by the feature extractor 504 facilitates the model trainer 506 in training a people identification model to detect a people count for a time and a media type. For example, at time t1 on date X in the media presentation environment 104, the feature extractor 504 extracts data indicative of media identifying information for a broadcast of “ABC the Bachelor,” as well as data indicative that three are viewing the broadcast.

In some examples, these extracted features, by themselves, may have limited usefulness, because there is just one such feature event in a given instance of people monitoring data. However, if the feature extractor 504 extracts feature data from multiple instances of people monitoring data, the generated feature vector may be sufficient to train the people identification model. For example, the feature extractor 504 extracts feature data having date X, Y, and Z at the time t1, indicative of media identifying information for the broadcast of “ABC the Bachelor” and indicative that three people are viewing the broadcast. In such an example, the model trainer 506 can utilize the feature vector to train the people identification model to predict the people count for time t1.

The example model trainer 506 of the illustrated example of FIG. 5 trains the people identification model based on the output feature vector of the feature extractor 504. The model trainer 506 operates in a training mode where it receives multiple instances of people monitoring data, generates a prediction, and outputs a people identification model based on that prediction. For the example model trainer 506 to generate a people identification model, the model trainer 506 receives feature vectors corresponding to actual representations of the media presentation environment 104. For example, during a training mode, verifications are made about the people count of the media presentation environment 104 so that the data they provide to the comparator 308 is suitable for learning. For example, the model trainer 506 receives a feature vector indicative of the features of an actual media presentation environment and identifies a pattern in the features that maps the dates and times of the actual media presentation environment to the people count and outputs a model that captures these daily and/or weekly patterns. The example model trainer 506 provides the output people identification model to the example model updater 508 to assist in generating predictions about the people count at subsequent dates and times.

The example model updater 508 of the illustrated example of FIG. 5 flags a people identification model received from the model trainer 506 as new and/or updated. For example, the model updater 508 can receive a people identification model from the model trainer 506 that provides a prediction algorithm to detect a number of people in the media presentation environment 104. The model updater 508 determines that a people identification model of this type is new and, therefore, tags it as new. In some examples, the model updater 508 determines that a people identification model of this type has been generated previously and, therefore, will flag the model most recently generated as updated. The example model updater 508 provides the new and/or updated model to the model generator 510.

The example model generator 510 of the illustrated example of FIG. 5 generates a people identification model for publishing. For example, the model generator 510 may receive a notification from the model updater 508 that a new and/or updated people identification model has been trained and the model generator 510 may create a file in which the people identification model is published so that the people identification model can be saved and/or stored as the file. In some examples, the model generator 510 provides a notification to the people meter controller 302 and/or the thermal image detector 306 that a people identification model is ready to be transformed and published. In some examples, the model generator 510 stores the people identification model in the example model database 312 for subsequent retrieval by the people meter controller 302.

In some examples, the people identification model controller 310 determines a people identification model is trained and ready for use when the prediction meets a threshold amount of error. In some examples, the people meter controller 302 and/or the thermal image detector 306 implements the trained people identification model to count people in a media presentation environment. Alternatively, the example people identifier 210 implements the people identification model. In such an example, the people identification model would obtain thermal image data from the thermal imaging sensor 124 to make informed decisions about the people count, without the use of audience input data. In this manner, the people identification model may replace the people meter controller 302, the thermal image detector 306, and the comparator 308.

While an example manner of implementing the people identifier 210 of FIG. 2 is illustrated in FIGS. 3, 4, and 5 , one or more of the elements, processes and/or devices illustrated in FIGS. 3, 4, and 5 may be combined, divided, re-arranged, omitted, eliminated and/or implemented in any other way. Further, the example people meter controller 302, the example interface 304, the example thermal image detector 306, the example comparator 308, the example people identification model controller 310, the example model database 312, the example thermal image database 402, the example heat blob determination controller 404, the example scanning controller 406, the example blob counter 408, the example communication controller 502, the example feature extractor 504, the example model trainer 506, the example model updater 508, the example model generator 510, and/or, more generally, the example people identifier 210 of FIG. 2 may be implemented by hardware, software, firmware and/or any combination of hardware, software and/or firmware. Thus, for example, any of the example people meter controller 302, the example interface 304, the example thermal image detector 306, the example comparator 308, the example people identification model controller 310, the example model database 312, the example thermal image database 402, the example heat blob determination controller 404, the example scanning controller 406, the example blob counter 408, the example communication controller 502, the example feature extractor 504, the example model trainer 506, the example model updater 508, the example model generator 510, and/or, more generally, the example people identifier 210 could be implemented by one or more analog or digital circuit(s), logic circuits, programmable processor(s), programmable controller(s), graphics processing unit(s) (GPU(s)), digital signal processor(s) (DSP(s)), application specific integrated circuit(s) (ASIC(s)), programmable logic device(s) (PLD(s)) and/or field programmable logic device(s) (FPLD(s)). When reading any of the apparatus or system claims of this patent to cover a purely software and/or firmware implementation, at least one of the example people meter controller 302, the example interface 304, the example thermal image detector 306, the example comparator 308, the example people identification model controller 310, the example model database 312, the example thermal image database 402, the example heat blob determination controller 404, the example scanning controller 406, the example blob counter 408, the example communication controller 502, the example feature extractor 504, the example model trainer 506, the example model updater 508, and/or the example model generator 510, is/are hereby expressly defined to include a non-transitory computer readable storage device or storage disk such as a memory, a digital versatile disk (DVD), a compact disk (CD), a Blu-ray disk, etc. including the software and/or firmware. Further still, the example people identifier 210 of FIG. 2 may include one or more elements, processes and/or devices in addition to, or instead of, those illustrated in FIGS. 3, 4, and 5 , and/or may include more than one of any or all of the illustrated elements, processes and devices. As used herein, the phrase “in communication,” including variations thereof, encompasses direct communication and/or indirect communication through one or more intermediary components, and does not require direct physical (e.g., wired) communication and/or constant communication, but rather additionally includes selective communication at periodic intervals, scheduled intervals, aperiodic intervals, and/or one-time events.

Flowcharts representative of example hardware logic, machine readable instructions, hardware implemented state machines, and/or any combination thereof for implementing the people identifier 210 of FIGS. 3, 4 , and 5 are shown in FIGS. 6-10 . The machine readable instructions may be one or more executable programs or portion(s) of an executable program for execution by a computer processor such as the processor 1112 shown in the example processor platform 1100 discussed below in connection with FIG. 11 . The programs may be embodied in software stored on a non-transitory computer readable storage medium such as a CD-ROM, a floppy disk, a hard drive, a DVD, a Blu-ray disk, or a memory associated with the processor 1112, but the entire program and/or parts thereof could alternatively be executed by a device other than the processor 1112 and/or embodied in firmware or dedicated hardware. Further, although the example programs are described with reference to the flowcharts illustrated in FIGS. 6-10 , many other methods of implementing the example people identifier 210 may alternatively be used. For example, the order of execution of the blocks may be changed, and/or some of the blocks described may be changed, eliminated, or combined. Additionally or alternatively, any or all of the blocks may be implemented by one or more hardware circuits (e.g., discrete and/or integrated analog and/or digital circuitry, an FPGA, an ASIC, a comparator, an operational-amplifier (op-amp), a logic circuit, etc.) structured to perform the corresponding operation without executing software or firmware.

The machine readable instructions described herein may be stored in one or more of a compressed format, an encrypted format, a fragmented format, a compiled format, an executable format, a packaged format, etc. Machine readable instructions as described herein may be stored as data (e.g., portions of instructions, code, representations of code, etc.) that may be utilized to create, manufacture, and/or produce machine executable instructions. For example, the machine readable instructions may be fragmented and stored on one or more storage devices and/or computing devices (e.g., servers). The machine readable instructions may require one or more of installation, modification, adaptation, updating, combining, supplementing, configuring, decryption, decompression, unpacking, distribution, reassignment, compilation, etc. in order to make them directly readable, interpretable, and/or executable by a computing device and/or other machine. For example, the machine readable instructions may be stored in multiple parts, which are individually compressed, encrypted, and stored on separate computing devices, wherein the parts when decrypted, decompressed, and combined form a set of executable instructions that implement a program such as that described herein.

In another example, the machine readable instructions may be stored in a state in which they may be read by a computer, but require addition of a library (e.g., a dynamic link library (DLL)), a software development kit (SDK), an application programming interface (API), etc. in order to execute the instructions on a particular computing device or other device. In another example, the machine readable instructions may need to be configured (e.g., settings stored, data input, network addresses recorded, etc.) before the machine readable instructions and/or the corresponding program(s) can be executed in whole or in part. Thus, the disclosed machine readable instructions and/or corresponding program(s) are intended to encompass such machine readable instructions and/or program(s) regardless of the particular format or state of the machine readable instructions and/or program(s) when stored or otherwise at rest or in transit.

The machine readable instructions described herein can be represented by any past, present, or future instruction language, scripting language, programming language, etc. For example, the machine readable instructions may be represented using any of the following languages: C, C++, Java, C#, Perl, Python, JavaScript, HyperText Markup Language (HTML), Structured Query Language (SQL), Swift, etc.

As mentioned above, the example processes of FIGS. 6-10 may be implemented using executable instructions (e.g., computer and/or machine readable instructions) stored on a non-transitory computer and/or machine readable medium such as a hard disk drive, a flash memory, a read-only memory, a compact disk, a digital versatile disk, a cache, a random-access memory and/or any other storage device or storage disk in which information is stored for any duration (e.g., for extended time periods, permanently, for brief instances, for temporarily buffering, and/or for caching of the information). As used herein, the term non-transitory computer readable medium is expressly defined to include any type of computer readable storage device and/or storage disk and to exclude propagating signals and to exclude transmission media.

“Including” and “comprising” (and all forms and tenses thereof) are used herein to be open ended terms. Thus, whenever a claim employs any form of “include” or “comprise” (e.g., comprises, includes, comprising, including, having, etc.) as a preamble or within a claim recitation of any kind, it is to be understood that additional elements, terms, etc. may be present without falling outside the scope of the corresponding claim or recitation. As used herein, when the phrase “at least” is used as the transition term in, for example, a preamble of a claim, it is open-ended in the same manner as the term “comprising” and “including” are open ended. The term “and/or” when used, for example, in a form such as A, B, and/or C refers to any combination or subset of A, B, C such as (1) A alone, (2) B alone, (3) C alone, (4) A with B, (5) A with C, (6) B with C, and (7) A with B and with C. As used herein in the context of describing structures, components, items, objects and/or things, the phrase “at least one of A and B” is intended to refer to implementations including any of (1) at least one A, (2) at least one B, and (3) at least one A and at least one B. Similarly, as used herein in the context of describing structures, components, items, objects and/or things, the phrase “at least one of A or B” is intended to refer to implementations including any of (1) at least one A, (2) at least one B, and (3) at least one A and at least one B. As used herein in the context of describing the performance or execution of processes, instructions, actions, activities and/or steps, the phrase “at least one of A and B” is intended to refer to implementations including any of (1) at least one A, (2) at least one B, and (3) at least one A and at least one B. Similarly, as used herein in the context of describing the performance or execution of processes, instructions, actions, activities and/or steps, the phrase “at least one of A or B” is intended to refer to implementations including any of (1) at least one A, (2) at least one B, and (3) at least one A and at least one B.

As used herein, singular references (e.g., “a”, “an”, “first”, “second”, etc.) do not exclude a plurality. The term “a” or “an” entity, as used herein, refers to one or more of that entity. The terms “a” (or “an”), “one or more”, and “at least one” can be used interchangeably herein. Furthermore, although individually listed, a plurality of means, elements or method actions may be implemented by, e.g., a single unit or processor. Additionally, although individual features may be included in different examples or claims, these may possibly be combined, and the inclusion in different examples or claims does not imply that a combination of features is not feasible and/or advantageous.

FIGS. 6, 7, 8, and 9 illustrate programs that are executed by the example people identifier 210 to determine an accurate people count utilizing audience input and thermal image data. FIG. 6 illustrates an example people count program 600 implemented by the example people meter controller 302 of FIG. 3 to determine a people count based on audience input. FIG. 7 illustrates an example heat blob count program 700 implemented by the example thermal image detector 306 of FIG. 3 to determine a heat blob count based on thermal image data from the thermal imaging sensor 124 of FIG. 1 . FIG. 8 illustrates further detail of the heat blob count program 700 to determine a heat blob count based on thermal image data provided by the thermal imaging sensor 124. FIG. 9 illustrates a comparison program 900 implemented by the example comparator 308 of FIG. 3 to determine an accurate people count of a media presentation environment.

Turning to FIG. 6 , the example people count program 600 begins at block 602, when the example media device 110 (FIG. 1 ) is on. In some examples, the people count program 600 begins when a panelist member (e.g., panelist 106, 107, 108) activates their respective input device 122, and/or when a scheduling interval has elapsed for the people meter controller 302 (FIG. 3 ) to prompt panelists for verification of viewing.

The example people meter controller 302 obtains user input (block 604). For example, the people meter controller 302 waits to receive an indication from an input device 122 that a panelist member is logged on. In some examples, when a panelist member is logged on, the panelist member is indicating that they are viewing media in the media presentation environment 104 (FIG. 1 ). In some examples, the panelist members possess input devices 122 that include a unique identifier corresponding to the panelist.

The example people meter controller 302 determines a people count based on the user input (block 606). For example, the people meter controller 302 counts the number of unique identifiers received from the input device(s) 122. The example people meter controller 302 provides the people count to the example comparator 308 (FIG. 3 ). The example people count program 600 of FIG. 6 ends when the comparator 308 obtains the people count. In some examples, the people count program 600 repeats when the example media device 110 is turned on, when a panelist member (e.g., panelist 106, 107, 108) activates their respective input device 122, and/or when an interval has elapsed for people meter controller 302 (FIG. 3 ) to prompt panelists for verification of viewing.

Turning to FIG. 7 , the example heat blob count program 700 begins when the example media device 110 (FIG. 1 ) is on (block 702). For example, the thermal imaging sensor 124 (FIG. 1 ) may be activated and begin capturing thermal image data when the media device 110 is turned on, and thus the heat blob count program 700 begins.

The example thermal image database 402 (FIG. 4 ) obtains frames of thermal image data from the example thermal imaging sensor 124 (block 704). For example, the thermal imaging sensor 124 captures frames of thermal image data corresponding to the media presentation environment 104 and stores them in the thermal image database 402. The example heat blob determination controller 404 (FIG. 4 ) and the example blob counter 408 (FIG. 4 ) determine a heat blob count based on the thermal image data (block 706). For example, the heat blob determination controller 404 and the blob counter 408 operate to analyze the frames of thermal image data and determine a number of human size heat blobs illustrated in the frames. Further example instructions that may be used to implement block 706 are described below in connection with FIG. 8 .

The example blob counter 408 provides the heat blob count to the comparator 308 (FIG. 3 ) (block 708). For example, the blob counter 408 is communicatively coupled to the comparator 308, and further provides the heat blob count to the comparator 308 for a comparison to the prompted people count. The heat blob count program 700 ends when the example blob counter 408 provides the heat blob count to the example comparator 308. The heat blob count program 700 repeats when the example scanning controller 406 (FIG. 4 ) initiates a new capture of thermal image data. For example, the scanning controller 406 may initiate the thermal imaging sensor 124 to capture frames of the media presentation environment 104, and thus a new and/or same number of heat blobs, in the media presentation environment 104, may be detected.

Turning to FIG. 8 , the example heat blob determination program 706 begins when the heat blob determination controller 404 (FIG. 4 ) obtains a frame of thermal image data from the thermal image database 402 (FIG. 4 ) (block 802). For example, the heat blob determination controller 404 queries the thermal image database 402 for frames corresponding to the media presentation environment 104.

The example heat blob determination controller 404 identifies portions of the frame that include a high probability of a human (block 804). For example, the heat blob determination controller 404 detects warm areas of the frame that are to be analyzed further, as described above. The example heat blob determination controller 404 detects features of the frame that are incompatible with the presence of a human (block 806). For example, the heat blob determination controller 404 identifies cool areas of the frame, areas with hard edges, etc., as described above. The example heat blob determination controller 404 discards the incompatible features (block 810). For example, the heat blob determination controller 404 removes any groups of pixels that were determined to be incompatible with the presence of a human in an effort to increase the probability and accuracy of detecting human size heat blob(s).

The example heat blob determination controller 404 applies filters to the identified portions of the frame (block 812). For example, the heat blob determination controller 404 convolves filters indicative of a shape, size, and/or distance over the identified portions of the frame to detect lines and features that correspond to the shape of a human. The example the heat blob determination controller 404 connects the output(s) of the filters to form a fully connected output (block 814).

For example, the heat blob determination controller 404 concatenates the outputs of the filters to form the fully connected output layer. The fully connected output layer is indicative of the number of human size and/or human shaped heat blobs detected during the filtering. In this manner, the example heat blob determination controller 404 evaluates the fully connected output (block 816). For example, the heat blob determination controller 404 utilizes the information in the fully connected output to predict and/or otherwise determine if a human size heat blob was detected.

The example heat blob determination controller 404 determines if human size heat blobs were detected (block 818). For example, the heat blob determination controller 404 utilizes the evaluation of the fully connected output to determine if human size heat blobs were detected. If the example heat blob determination controller 404 determines human size heat blobs were not detected (e.g., block 818=NO), then the example heat blob determination controller 404 prompts the scanning controller 406 to scan the media environment (block 820). For example, the heat blob determination controller 404 may send a trigger to the scanning controller 406 to prompt the scanning controller to capture more frames of thermal image data of the media presentation environment 104.

If the example heat blob determination controller 404 determines human size heat blobs were detected (e.g., block 818=YES), then the example heat blob determination controller 404 provides the fully connected output to example blob counter 408. The example blob counter 408 determines the number of human size heat blobs in the fully connected output (block 822). For example, the blob counter 408 analyzes information in the fully connected output to determine the number of human size heat blobs that were identified in the frame.

The example blob counter 408 updates the counter with the number of heat blobs (block 824). For example, the blob counter 408 increments the counter to equal the number of human size heat blobs detected in the image frame. The example heat blob determination program 706 ends when the blob counter 408 updates the counter value to equal the number of human size heat blobs detected in the image frame. The example heat blob determination program 706 repeats when the example heat blob determination controller 404 obtains a new frame of thermal image data from the example thermal image database 402.

Turning to FIG. 9 , the example comparison program 900 begins when the example comparator 308 (FIG. 3 ) obtains the people count (block 902). For example, the comparator 308 obtains the prompted people count from the example people meter controller 302 (FIG. 3 ). Additionally, the example comparator 308 obtains the heat blob count (block 904). For example, the comparator 308 obtains the heat blob count from the example thermal image detector 306 (FIG. 3 ).

The example comparator 308 compares the prompted people count to the heat blob count (block 906). For example, the comparator 308 compares the value of the prompted people count to the value of the heat blob count. The example comparator 308 determines if the counts match (block 908). For example, the comparator 308 determines if the count values are equal in value. If the example comparator 308 determines the counts match (e.g., block 908=YES), the example comparator 308 determines a time of the comparison (block 910). For example, the comparator 308 identifies when the prompted people count was compared to the heat blob count in order to provide the media measurement data controller 212 (FIG. 2 ) with enough information to correlate the people count with media identifying information.

In the illustrated example, the comparator 308 provides the people count and the time to the people identification model (block 912). For example, the comparator 308 outputs information determined from the comparison to train the people identification model. Further, the example comparator 308 sends a reset notification to the example people meter controller 302 (block 914). For example, the comparator 308 notifies the example people meter controller 302 to reset the scheduling interval timers that determine when prompting messages are to be triggered. In some examples, when the comparator 308 provides the notification to the people meter controller 302, the example comparison program 900 ends.

Returning to block 908, if the example comparator 308 determines the counts do not match (e.g., block 908=NO), the example comparator 308 determines if the comparison is indicative that the prompted people count is less than the blob count (block 916). For example, if the people meter controller 302 did not receive user and/or audience input from every input device 122 and/or from the input device 122 in the media presentation environment 104, then the comparison is indicative that the people count is less than the blob count (e.g., block 916=YES). In this manner, the example comparator 308 initiates a prompt for additional member logging (block 918). For example, the comparator 308 triggers the people meter controller 302 to generate a prompting message for additional member logging. In this manner, the example people meter controller 302 generates the prompting message in an effort to obtain a response from the panelists to verify the heat blob count and generate accurate audience monitoring data.

When the comparator 308 initiates a prompt for additional member logging (block 918), control advances to block 910. The machine-readable instructions of blocks 910, 912, and 914 are further executed by the example comparator 308.

In some examples, if the comparison is not indicative that the people count is less than the blob count (e.g., block 916=NO), the comparator 308 determines the comparison is indicative that the people count is greater than the blob count (block 920). In such an example, the people meter controller 302 obtained a false number of people viewing the media. For example, a panelist member may have overcompensated for their presence in the media presentation environment 104, such as by logging in when not actually present, or accidentally logging in as a different person. The example comparator 308 initiates a prompt for removal of member logging (block 922). For example, the comparator 308 triggers the people meter controller 302 to generate a prompting message indicative to remove a panelist member.

When the example comparator 308 provides the notification to the example people meter controller 302, control returns to block 910 and the machine-readable instructions of block 910, 912, and 914 are executed by the example comparator 308. The example comparison program 900 ends when the comparator 308 sends the reset notification to the people meter controller 302. The example comparison program 900 is repeated when the example comparator 308 obtains a new people count and/or a new blob count from either of the example people meter controller 302 or the thermal image detector 306.

FIG. 10 illustrates an example training program 1000 to train a people identification model to predict a verified people count for subsequent dates and times in the media presentation environment 104. The example machine readable instructions 1000 may be used to implement the example people identification model controller 310 of FIG. 3 . In FIG. 10 , the example training program 1000 beings at block 1002, when the example feature extractor 504 (FIG. 5 ) obtains comparison data from the example comparator 308 (FIG. 3 ). For example, the comparator 308 provides comparison results and time stamps to the example feature extractor 504.

The example feature extractor 504 obtains data from the example people meter controller 302 (FIG. 3 ) (block 1004). For example, the people meter controller 302 provides demographic data corresponding to the logged in panelist members at a time they logged in. The example feature extractor 504 obtains evaluation data from the example thermal image detector 306 (FIG. 3 ) (block 1006). For example, the thermal image detector 306 provides the analysis and evaluation results of the frame of thermal image data for a particular time. Additionally, the example thermal image detector 306 provides the tagged frame (e.g., the frame tagged with a blob count by the blob counter 408 (FIG. 4 )) to the example feature extractor 504.

The example feature extractor 504 obtains media identifying information from the example media measurement data controller 212 (FIG. 2 ) (block 1008). For example, the media measurement data controller 212 provides media identifying information to the communication controller 502 (FIG. 5 ) in response to receiving a people count, and the communication controller 502 provides the media identifying information to the feature extractor 504.

The example feature extractor 504 extracts features of the people monitoring information (block 1010). As used herein, the people monitoring information corresponds to the information and data obtained from the example people meter controller 302, the example comparator 308, the example thermal image detector 306, and the example media measurement data controller 212. This data can be used to determine a verified people count and/or represents a verified people count.

The example feature extractor 504 generates a feature vector corresponding to the extracted features of the people monitoring data (block 1012). For example, the feature extractor 504 generates a feature vector that represents descriptive characteristics of a physical environment (e.g., the media presentation environment) at particular dates and times, or at a particular date and time. The example feature extractor 504 determines if there are additional people monitoring data (block 1014). For example, the feature extractor 504 determines if another set of people monitoring data, representative of the people count during a different time in the media presentation environment 104, is available. If the example feature extractor 504 determines there are additional people monitoring data (block 1014=YES), then control returns to block 1002. In such an example, the model trainer 506 (FIG. 5 ) needs to receive people monitoring data of the media presentation environment 104 that is sufficient to generate a sufficiently accurate and/or precise model.

If the example feature extractor 504 determines there are not additional people monitoring data (block 1014=NO), then the example model trainer 506 trains the people identification model based on the feature vector (block 1016). For example, the model trainer 506 may utilize a machine learning technique to predict output probability values corresponding to the number of people in the media presentation environment 104. The output probability values could correspond to future predictions of the number of people viewing particular media in the media presentation environment 104 or the output probability values could correspond to future predictions of the number of people in the media presentation environment 104 at a particular hour of the day or day of the week.

After the people identification model has been trained, the example model updater 508 flags the people identification model as new or updated. Further, the example model generator 510 generates the trained model (block 1018). For example, the model generator 510 receives the new and/or updated trained people identification model from the model updater 508 and generates a file to store/save the trained people identification model for subsequent access by the people meter controller 302 (FIG. 3 ) and/or the thermal image detector 306 (FIG. 3 ).

The example model generator 510 stores the trained people identification model in the example model database 312 (FIG. 3 ) (block 1020). The training program 1000 ends when the trained people identification model is stored in the example model database 312. The training program 1000 repeats when the example feature extractor 504 obtains people monitoring data.

In some examples, the trained people identification model is published by the people identification model controller 310. When the people identification model is published, the people identification model operates in a detection phase, where the example people identification model controller 310 utilizes the trained model, in real time, to determine an accurate people count of the media presentation environment 104. In some examples, the people identification model replaces the people meter controller 302, the thermal image detector 306, and the comparator 308. In such an example, the people identification model obtains input data from the thermal imaging sensor 124 to determine an accurate people count of the media presentation environment 104. Such input from the thermal imaging sensor 124 includes frames of thermal image data. For example, the people identification model utilizes its prediction capabilities in connection with information obtained about the thermal environment of the media presentation environment 104 to output an accurate representation of the number of people in the media presentation environment 104. In such an example, the people meter controller 302 no longer requires audience input, and thus compliance becomes less of an issue when determining an accurate people count.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram of an example processor platform 1100 structured to execute the instructions of FIGS. 6-10 to implement the people identifier 210 of FIGS. 2, 3, 4, and 5 . The processor platform 1100 can be, for example, a server, a personal computer, a workstation, a self-learning machine (e.g., a neural network), a mobile device (e.g., a cell phone, a smart phone, a tablet such as an iPad™), a personal digital assistant (PDA), an Internet appliance, a DVD player, a CD player, a digital video recorder, a Blu-ray player, a gaming console, a personal video recorder, a set top box, a headset or other wearable device, or any other type of computing device.

The processor platform 1100 of the illustrated example includes a processor 1112. The processor 1112 of the illustrated example is hardware. For example, the processor 1112 can be implemented by one or more integrated circuits, logic circuits, microprocessors, GPUs, DSPs, or controllers from any desired family or manufacturer. The hardware processor may be a semiconductor based (e.g., silicon based) device. In this example, the processor implements the example people meter controller 302, the example interface 304, the example thermal image detector 306, the example comparator 308, the example people identification model controller 310, the example model database 312, the example thermal image database 402, the example heat blob determination controller 404, the example scanning controller 406, the example blob counter 408, the example communication controller 502, the example feature extractor 504, the example model trainer 506, the example model updater 508, the example model generator 510.

The processor 1112 of the illustrated example includes a local memory 1113 (e.g., a cache). In some examples, the local memory 1113 implements the example model database 312 and the example thermal image database 402. The processor 1112 of the illustrated example is in communication with a main memory including a volatile memory 1114 and a non-volatile memory 1116 via a bus 1118. The volatile memory 1114 may be implemented by Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (SDRAM), Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), RAMBUS® Dynamic Random Access Memory (RDRAM®) and/or any other type of random access memory device. The non-volatile memory 1116 may be implemented by flash memory and/or any other desired type of memory device. Access to the main memory 1114, 1116 is controlled by a memory controller.

The processor platform 1100 of the illustrated example also includes an interface circuit 1120. The interface circuit 1120 may be implemented by any type of interface standard, such as an Ethernet interface, a universal serial bus (USB), a Bluetooth® interface, a near field communication (NFC) interface, and/or a PCI express interface. In some examples, the interface circuit 1120 implements the example interface 304.

In the illustrated example, one or more input devices 1122 are connected to the interface circuit 1120. The input device(s) 1122 permit(s) a user to enter data and/or commands into the processor 1112. The input device(s) can be implemented by, for example, an audio sensor, a microphone, a camera (still or video), a thermal image camera, a keyboard, a button, a mouse, a touchscreen, a track-pad, a trackball, isopoint and/or a voice recognition system.

One or more output devices 1124 are also connected to the interface circuit 1120 of the illustrated example. The output devices 1124 can be implemented, for example, by display devices (e.g., a light emitting diode (LED), an organic light emitting diode (OLED), a liquid crystal display (LCD), a cathode ray tube display (CRT), an in-place switching (IPS) display, a touchscreen, etc.), a tactile output device, and/or speaker. The interface circuit 1120 of the illustrated example, thus, typically includes a graphics driver card, a graphics driver chip, and/or a graphics driver processor.

The interface circuit 1120 of the illustrated example also includes a communication device such as a transmitter, a receiver, a transceiver, a modem, a residential gateway, a wireless access point, and/or a network interface to facilitate exchange of data with external machines (e.g., computing devices of any kind) via a network 1126. The communication can be via, for example, an Ethernet connection, a digital subscriber line (DSL) connection, a telephone line connection, a coaxial cable system, a satellite system, a line-of-site wireless system, a cellular telephone system, etc.

The processor platform 1100 of the illustrated example also includes one or more mass storage devices 1128 for storing software and/or data. Examples of such mass storage devices 1128 include floppy disk drives, hard drive disks, compact disk drives, Blu-ray disk drives, redundant array of independent disks (RAID) systems, and digital versatile disk (DVD) drives.

The machine executable instructions 1132 of FIGS. 6-10 may be stored in the mass storage device 1128, in the volatile memory 1114, in the non-volatile memory 1116, and/or on a removable non-transitory computer readable storage medium such as a CD or DVD.

From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that example methods, apparatus and articles of manufacture have been disclosed that determine a people count in a media presentation environment by capturing frames of thermal image data and comparing an evaluation of the frames to audience input data. The disclosed example methods, apparatus and articles of manufacture improve the efficiency of using a computing device by using the audience input data and the evaluation of the frames to train a people identification model to determine the people count. The people identification model, once trained, can replace the people identifier and thus, improve the efficiency processing time by eliminating a need for audience input data and human shape detection. The disclosed example methods, apparatus and articles of manufacture improve the efficiency of using a computing device by reducing prompting messages when the heat blob count matches the prompted people count and thus verifies the prompted people count. The disclosed methods, apparatus and articles of manufacture are accordingly directed to one or more improvement(s) in the functioning of a computer.

Example methods, apparatus, systems, and articles of manufacture to count people in a media environment are disclosed herein. Further examples and combinations thereof include the following:

Example 1 includes an apparatus to count people in a media environment, the apparatus comprising a thermal image detector to determine a heat blob count based on a frame of thermal image data, the frame of thermal image data captured in the media environment, a comparator to compare the heat blob count to a prompted people count, the prompted people count based on one or more responses to a prompting message, and when the heat blob count and the prompted people count match, cause a timer that is to trigger generation of the prompting message to be reset.

Example 2 includes the apparatus of example 1, wherein the comparator is to cause the prompting message to be generated when the prompted people count does not match the heat blob count.

Example 3 includes the apparatus of example 1, wherein when the comparator determines the prompted people count is greater than the heat blob count, the comparator is to decrease the prompted people count to equal the heat blob count.

Example 4 includes the apparatus of example 1, further including a people meter controller to determine the prompted people count based on the one or more responses to the prompting message, the one or more responses associated with unique people identifiers.

Example 5 includes the apparatus of example 4, wherein the people meter controller is to generate the prompting message to request a response to provide an input or remove an input.

Example 6 includes the apparatus of example 1, wherein the thermal image detector is to evaluate features in the frame of thermal image data to detect one or more human size heat blobs, the one or more human size heat blobs corresponding to the heat blob count.

Example 7 includes the apparatus of example 1, wherein the comparator is to verify a number of people in the media environment based on comparison of the heat blob count and the prompted people count.

Example 8 includes a method to count people in a media environment, the method comprising determining a heat blob count based on a frame of thermal image data, the frame of thermal image data captured in the media environment, comparing the heat blob count to a prompted people count, the prompted people count based on one or more responses to a prompting message, and when the heat blob count and the prompted people count match, cause a timer that is to trigger generation of the prompting message to be reset.

Example 9 includes the method of example 8, wherein further including causing the prompting message to be generated when the prompted people count does not match the heat blob count.

Example 10 includes the method of example 8, further including decreasing the prompted people count to equal the heat blob count when the prompted people count is greater than the heat blob count.

Example 11 includes the method of example 8, further including determining the prompted people count based on the one or more responses to the prompting message, the one or more responses associated with unique people identifiers.

Example 12 includes the method of example 11, further including generating the prompting message to request a response to provide an input or remove an input.

Example 13 includes the method of example 8, further including evaluating features in the frame of thermal image data to detect one or more human size heat blobs, the one or more human size heat blobs corresponding to the heat blob count.

Example 14 includes the method of example 8, further including verifying a number of people in the media environment based on comparison of the heat blob count and the prompted people count.

Example 15 includes a non-transitory computer readable storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed, cause one or more processors to at least determine a heat blob count based on a frame of thermal image data, the frame of thermal image data captured in a media environment, compare the heat blob count to a prompted people count, the prompted people count based on one or more responses to a prompting message, and when the heat blob count and the prompted people count match, cause a timer that is to trigger generation of the prompting message to be reset.

Example 16 includes the non-transitory computer readable storage medium of example 15, wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the one or more processors to cause the prompting message to be generated when the prompted people count does not match the heat blob count.

Example 17 includes the non-transitory computer readable storage medium of example 15, wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the one or more processors to decrease the prompted people count to equal the heat blob count when the prompted people count is greater than the heat blob count.

Example 18 includes the non-transitory computer readable storage medium of example 15, wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the one or more processors to determine the prompted people count based on the one or more responses to the prompting message, the one or more responses associated with unique people identifiers.

Example 19 includes the non-transitory computer readable storage medium of example 18, wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the one or more processors to generate the prompting message to request a response to provide an input or remove an input.

Example 20 includes the non-transitory computer readable storage medium of example 15, wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the one or more processors to evaluate features in the frame of thermal image data to detect one or more human size heat blobs, the one or more human size heat blobs corresponding to the heat blob count.

Example 21 includes the non-transitory computer readable storage medium of example 15, wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the one or more processors to verify a number of people in the media environment based on comparison of the heat blob count and the prompted people count.

Although certain example methods, apparatus and articles of manufacture have been disclosed herein, the scope of coverage of this patent is not limited thereto. On the contrary, this patent covers all methods, apparatus and articles of manufacture fairly falling within the scope of the claims of this patent.

The following claims are hereby incorporated into this Detailed Description by this reference, with each claim standing on its own as a separate embodiment of the present disclosure. 

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus to count people in a media environment, the apparatus comprising: memory; machine readable instructions; and one or more processors to at least one of instantiate or execute the machine readable instructions to: determine features to include in a feature vector, a first feature of the features based on a frame of thermal image data corresponding to the media environment; and train a people identification model based on the feature vector, the people identification model to predict a future people count associated with the media environment.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are to compare a heat blob count to a prompted people count, the heat blob count based on the frame of thermal image data, and the prompted people count based on one or more responses to a prompt.
 3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the prompt is a first prompt, and the one or more processors are to cause a second prompt to be generated when the prompted people count does not match the heat blob count.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are to determine a second feature including at least one of media identifying information or a characteristic of the media environment at a particular time, the media identifying information to specify at least one of a channel or a time of exposure.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the frame of thermal image data corresponds to a first time, and the future people count corresponds to the media environment at a second time.
 6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the frame of thermal image data corresponds to first media content, and the future people count corresponds to second media content.
 7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the future people count is a predicted future people count, and the one or more processors are to verify the future people count by comparing the future people count to a verified people count corresponding to at least one of a time or a media event corresponding to the future people count.
 8. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed, cause one or more processors to at least: determine features to include in a feature vector, a first feature of the features based on a frame of thermal image data corresponding to a media environment; and train a people identification model based on the feature vector, the people identification model to predict a future people count associated with the media environment.
 9. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 8, wherein the instructions cause the one or more processors to compare a heat blob count to a prompted people count, the heat blob count based on the frame of thermal image data, and the prompted people count based on one or more responses to a prompt.
 10. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 9, wherein the prompt is a first prompt, and the instructions cause the one or more processors to cause a second prompt to be generated when the prompted people count does not match the heat blob count.
 11. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 8, wherein the instructions cause the one or more processors to determine a second feature including at least one of media identifying information or a characteristic of the media environment at a particular time, the media identifying information to specify at least one of a channel or a time of exposure.
 12. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 8, wherein the frame of thermal image data corresponds to a first time, and the future people count corresponds to the media environment at a second time.
 13. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 8, wherein the frame of thermal image data corresponds to first media content, and the future people count corresponds second media content.
 14. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 8, wherein the future people count is a predicted future people count, and the instructions cause the one or more processors to verify the future people count by comparing the future people count to a verified people count corresponding to at least one of a time or a media event corresponding to the future people count.
 15. A method to count people in a media environment comprising: determining, by one or more processors, features to include in a feature vector, a first feature of the features based on a frame of thermal image data corresponding to the media environment; and training, by the one or more processors, a people identification model based on the feature vector, the people identification model to predict a future people count associated with the media environment.
 16. The method of claim 15, further including comparing a heat blob count to a prompted people count, the heat blob count based on the frame of thermal image data, and the prompted people count based on one or more responses to a prompting message.
 17. The method of claim 15, further including determining a second feature including at least one of media identifying information or a characteristic of the media environment at a particular time, the media identifying information to specify at least one of a channel or a time of exposure.
 18. The method of claim 15, wherein the frame of thermal image data corresponds to a first time, and the future people count corresponds to the media environment at a second time.
 19. The method of claim 15, wherein the frame of thermal image data corresponds to a first media content, and the future people count corresponds to second media content.
 20. The method of claim 15, wherein the future people count is a predicted future people count, and further including verifying the future people count by comparing the future people count to a verified people count corresponding to at least one of a time or a media event corresponding to the future people count. 